Deal would exempt NRA and others from campaign finance disclosures

Updated 6:19 p.m.By Dan Eggen
House Democrats have reached a compromise that would exempt the National Rifle Association and some other nonprofit groups from having to comply with stringent new campaign finance disclosures aimed primarily at large corporations, sources said Monday.

The deal paves the way for a House vote as early as later this week on the legislation, which is aimed at pushing back against a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that freed corporations, unions and nonprofit groups to spend unlimited funds for or against political candidates.

The legislation, spearheaded by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and paired with a companion bill in the Senate, would require companies and organizations to identify themselves on ads that they pay for; disclose information about such expenditures to shareholders and the public; and stand by the message of any ads through statements from a chief executive or other top official, much as political candidates currently are required to do.

A number of major interest groups objected to some of the disclosure requirements as overly intrusive, particularly those requiring identifying top donors. Under the House compromise, first reported by Politico, nonprofit groups such as the NRA would be exempt from the disclosure requirements if they are more than 10 years old, have at least 1 million members and receive 15 percent or less of their funding from corporations, a Democratic aide said.

An NRA spokesman was not immediately available for comment. The compromise removes a major obstacle for passage of the bill in the House, where members had been peppered with objections from the NRA, the National Right to Life Committee, unions and other groups potentially affected by the sweeping disclosure requirements.

The AFL-CIO and other unions would not be covered by the proposed exemption, a legislative aide said. [Eds. note: An earlier version of this report incorrectly stated that the AFL-CIO would be covered under the compromise.]

Fred Wertheimer, president of the Democracy 21 campaign-reform group, called the compromise "a very narrow exemption" that will not apply to most groups organized under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code.

"Almost all c4 advocacy groups that make campaign-related expenditures will be covered by the donor disclosure provisions in the legislation, as will c4 groups formed to function as dummy or front groups or to serve as groups to make campaign-related expenditures without disclosing their donors," Wertheimer said in a statement.

The bills in the House and Senate come in response to a landmark 5-to-4 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which allows corporations and unions to spend as much as they want on political advertising. But the high court also held that the government was free to impose broad disclosure requirements for such spending.

Brilliant, just brilliant. Finally the dems are getting smart. Invite the NRA into bed then let the vast majority of Americans who want a level playing field overrule them. The NRA will finally wake up one of these days to realize the dems are their best friends...they passed a law and the president of all of the United States signed it that allowed the nuts to carry firearms into national parks...something that Reagan, bush 1, and bush 2 didn't have the guts to do. Now they reach out again and offer to let the NRA to continue to slink around in anonimity and it's their friend Mitch that says no. This is brilliant. Now I know how VanHollen unseated what's her name. He's a genious.

Brilliant, just brilliant. Finally the dems are getting smart. Invite the NRA into bed then let the vast majority of Americans who want a level playing field overrule them. The NRA will finally wake up one of these days to realize the dems are their best friends...they passed a law and the president of all of the United States signed it that allowed the nuts to carry firearms into national parks. Now they reach out again and offer to let them to continue to slink around in anonimity and it's their friend Mitch that says no. This is brilliant. Now I know how VanHollen unseated what's her name. He's a genious.

There really has got to be a cloud that hangs over Washington, a cloud filled with
germs that penetrate the brain & kill one's
ability to think clearly & sensibly. All in our Congress have succumbed to it, some of those in the Supreme Court didn't fight it very hard before caving in to it, & the administration shows signs of having been infected.
Is it possible that this cloud will move across the nation, penetrating the brains of all of us so that we will no longer care about the mockery those in Washington are making of our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, & our freedoms? Is there a cure, an antidote for this horror? A new election, you say? Hmmmmmm! It would have to be very powerful to do the job right.

There really has got to be a cloud that hangs over Washington, a cloud filled with
germs that penetrate the brain & kill one's
ability to think clearly & sensibly. All in our Congress have succumbed to it, some of those in the Supreme Court didn't fight it very hard before caving in to it, & the administration shows signs of having been infected.
Is it possible that this cloud will move across the nation, penetrating the brains of all of us so that we will no longer care about the mockery those in Washington are making of our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, & our freedoms? Is there a cure, an antidote for this horror? A new election, you say? Hmmmmmm! It would have to be very powerful to do the job right.

There really has got to be a cloud that hangs over Washington, a cloud filled with
germs that penetrate the brain & kill one's
ability to think clearly & sensibly. All in our Congress have succumbed to it, some of those in the Supreme Court didn't fight it very hard before caving in to it, & the administration shows signs of having been infected.
Is it possible that this cloud will move across the nation, penetrating the brains of all of us so that we will no longer care about the mockery those in Washington are making of our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, & our freedoms? Is there a cure, an antidote for this horror? A new election, you say? Hmmmmmm! It would have to be very powerful to do the job right.

There really has got to be a cloud that hangs over Washington, a cloud filled with
germs that penetrate the brain & kill one's
ability to think clearly & sensibly. All in our Congress have succumbed to it, some of those in the Supreme Court didn't fight it very hard before caving in to it, & the administration shows signs of having been infected.
Is it possible that this cloud will move across the nation, penetrating the brains of all of us so that we will no longer care about the mockery those in Washington are making of our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, & our freedoms? Is there a cure, an antidote for this horror? A new election, you say? Hmmmmmm! It would have to be very powerful to do the job right.

Everyone who contributes - money, services, goods, whatever - to any political campaign, party, or individual should be publically identified: after all, they are making the contribution to a public official or party.

Secrecy in any transaction involving public officials, their campaigns their persons or families, should be prohibited, under stringent law, with serious (that is, prison-time) repercussions.

The laws should cover individuals, corporations, for-profit and non-profit organizations, not exempting unions or the NRA.

Otherwise, we just have the best government money can buy. We can, and must, put a stop to this.

BethG: "You people don't get it. There was a reason that the NRA was pushed to the forefront of this article and the unions minimized. Congress does not want to call attention to the unions and the constant pressure they put on congress to push their agenda."

That's EXACTLY right! The lefties are just putting up a smokescreen to hide the fact that the unions are getting a pass.

"Ooooo, watch my right hand, don't look away now, see that evil NRA over there on the RIGHT, don't look away now, stay focused on that right hand..."

You people don't get it. There was a reason that the NRA was pushed to the forefront of this article and the unions minimized. Congress does not want to call attention to the unions and the constant pressure they put on congress to push their agenda.

Do you really think congress cares about the NRA? They don't. But if the unions were exempt, the NRA members would challenge the decision. Congress would like to avoid that type of publicity.

solsticebelle, it's guys with guns who make it safe for you to go dance around your cauldrons at full moon. Now that's comical. mibrooks27, well, then I guess we'll have to vote their sorry a**es out of office. That seems to be the method of choice, except of course in an emergency.

"I am not an NRA member. I am, in fact, a very disenchanted Western liberal, but let me tell you Northeastern twits something - I, and millions of Western's just like me, would rather have outlawed abortions, the return of the sodomy laws, the complete and total destruction of government at every level, before I would see the return so much as even the goofy and light weight Brady laws. Out here, a firearm is flat out necessary to protect us and our families from the illegal hordes you Northeastern twits inflict on us, from the lack of police because there isn' any money because YOUR Wall Street gangsters shipped all of our jobs off to India and China and so undercut tax revenues, the ability of people to pay taxes, that our infrastructure has been crippled. Never again will any of us depend upon government and we mean to see to it that your insane notions of government and it's roll isn't in our future.

Posted by: mibrooks27 "

How pathetic. And yet the NRA is too chicken to be public about who they support. BAWK BAWK BAWK! You gun nuts are paranoid beyond belief. It's comical how you're too afraid of everything to go outside without a gun.

jhr1 _ The problem isn't just with California and New York, it's the entire Northeast plus Illinois. It's one gigantic cesspool. If we could arrange for those states and everyone in them to go form their very own country, drown in that cesspool of theirs, the world would be a better place. All of the goofy ideas, the Wall Street crooks, free trade, job outsourcing, fraud, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, illegal immigrant apologists, corrupt and out of touch politician's, swinger clubs, the MSM, heck even the BCS, all come from those areas. And that doesn't even begin to address their modern day Sodom and Gomorra, New York City and Washington D.C. None of us have ANYTHING in common with them. If Belgium can do it, we should to.

Just send $19.95 to the NRA at ..... and we'll send you this Russian made RPK and, for a limited time only, you'll even get this free container of ammunition!!!

Everybody in your house will run for cover when you pull the trigger on this FUN TOY!

But wait there's more! We'll even throw in this NRA membership! It comes with an authentic certificate, door sticker and MORE!

So don't ask your parents, just call today! If you're under 18, COD's will be accepted!
*******************************************
I only buy American and German. Colt and heckler and Koch are superior to anything the Russians produce. Also the Russian versions are getting expensive.
And why should you care about what other people own? Just because you do not exercise the right to own firearms a lot of us do and that is not going to change no matter how much you scream.
But as far as this exemption i do not think anyone should be exempt.

I am not an NRA member. I am, in fact, a very disenchanted Western liberal, but let me tell you Northeastern twits something - I, and millions of Western's just like me, would rather have outlawed abortions, the return of the sodomy laws, the complete and total destruction of government at every level, before I would see the return so much as even the goofy and light weight Brady laws. Out here, a firearm is flat out necessary to protect us and our families from the illegal hordes you Northeastern twits inflict on us, from the lack of police because there isn' any money because YOUR Wall Street gangsters shipped all of our jobs off to India and China and so undercut tax revenues, the ability of people to pay taxes, that our infrastructure has been crippled. Never again will any of us depend upon government and we mean to see to it that your insane notions of government and it's roll isn't in our future.

When you read the posts here, by the usual ignorant Northeastern leftists, you get to REALY understand why most of the rest of the country wants to cut them loose. Why on earth should be pay taxes, provide protection for their Wall Street criminals, and put up with their nonsense? The union has outlived any semblance of use so long as this collection of vermin has any say so on how the rest of us live our lives.

Apparently, the NRA's executives are too cowardly to be identified when pushing for more extremist laws like the Tiahrt amendment, although cop-killers sure seem to be who the NRA increasingly represents.

Hoping that this vile "compromise" is struck down by the courts, seeing as how it applies only to a few, not all, "non-profit"-HA, what a laugh as it pertains to the NRA-organizations.

"massmedia77 - you are an idiot. The compromise was with the big unions. Read the article meathead.

"Posted by: jhpbriton | June 14, 2010 4:30 PM"

Are you really arguing that the NRA either supports unions, or is union-run itself?

Perhaps calling others "idiots" when your own argument is lacking in reality isn't the smartest of tactics.

This bill is BS. As usual, the politicians are caving into their big money contributors. NO ONE SHOULD BE EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSING HOW MUCH THEY CONTRIBUTE TO ANY CANDIDATES. No matter if they're non-profit or not. I am totally ashamed of the Dems for letting this go through.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Democrats don't believe in democracy nor do liberals believe in liberty any longer.

I live in a congressional district where I have "taxation without representation" because the governor (D) decided not to hold a special election because the president (D) and Speaker of the House (D) are concerned that holding an election in my district would further democracy. They are against democracy. ... Bunch of Maoist, it seems.

So, I'm supposed to jump for joy that Dems have made a concession to the NRA? Are you serious? Are you $#%@ serious???

----------------------------------
Well, you might consider it a change in Congress, since the Republicans so far don't seem interested in compromising on anything.

If you're concerned about liberty, perhaps you might consider the actions of the past administration as well. But, then, they were Republicans, so I suppose that that makes it ok.

Maoist? How so? Of course, I suppose the first question should really be "do you know what maoism is?"

And, yippee, we can live in peace knowing that the NRA will be able to continue browbeating elected representatives to follow their views without scrutiny.

What is this bulls$it compromise for? You're telling me Pelosi or Obama couldn't twist enough arms to make enough Democrats vote for this without giving away exemptions to the organization that probably tries harder than any other to beat Democrats in congressional elections?

They're going to get crushed this fall. And they'll deserve it, even if the country doesn't.

what a bunch of garbage. There should be NO exemptions, period! I am sick and tired of weenie democrats giving in to these organizations, nonprofit or not. Baloney! If you don't want your name revealed, don't involve yourself in lobbying!

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Democrats don't believe in democracy nor do liberals believe in liberty any longer.

I live in a congressional district where I have "taxation without representation" because the governor (D) decided not to hold a special election because the president (D) and Speaker of the House (D) are concerned that holding an election in my district would further democracy. They are against democracy. ... Bunch of Maoist, it seems.

So, I'm supposed to jump for joy that Dems have made a concession to the NRA? Are you serious? Are you $#%@ serious???

It's continually obvious that not only does the NRA like the American public to have the right to own a gun to point at and shoot whomever for probably no real reason except to that some of you need some confidence that can only come with threats, perceived and actual, but the NRA likes the fact that they've scared our own (wet noodle) back congressmen.

When will this country realize that this blowhard organization is finding a way to hold everyone's feet to the shoot 'em up fire for a 200+ year old reason to own firearms. Maybe we should all return to the wonderful days of 1795 when there were threats to all citizens, no army, no militia and no money to pay either.

Or maybe we should all meet at 12 noon at some dusty street for our regular gun fights and pretend we're Billy the Coward.

It's continually obvious that not only does the NRA like the American public to have the right to own a gun to point at and shoot whomever for probably no real reason except to that some of you need some confidence that can only come with threats, perceived and actual, but the NRA likes the fact that they've scared our own (wet noodle) back congressmen.

When will this country realize that this blowhard organization is finding a way to hold everyone's feet to the shoot 'em up fire for a 200+ year old reason to own firearms. Maybe we should all return to the wonderful days of 1795 when there were threats to all citizens, no army, no militia and no money to pay either.

Or maybe we should all meet at 12 noon at some dusty street for our regular gun fights and pretend we're Billy the Coward.

This compromise is rather clever. Americans despise people and groups that don't play by the same fair rules. The unions' reputation is already lost, an unholy love child of Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Hoffa. It's time for the NRA to be viewed on the same level.

This Democratic White House makes too many compromises. Obama hasn't learned yet; compromising with the GOP and big corporations will be his downfall. He still hasn't learned his lesson from dealing with BP and loosening up on off-shore drilling. Any mistakes these unregulated companies make will ultimately fall on his shoulders....